With the advent of Apple’s iPod and the hugely popular iPhone, there is no doubt that we are living in a new and exciting generation of technology. I must confess that I am a child of the “Walkman” era which consisted of cassette tape players and Dolby noise reduction…so high tech! To transport my entire cassette tape collection I would have needed a fairly large sized crate. Just imagine how much fun that would’ve been to drag onto a bus! Thanks to Apple we can now take our entire CD collection with us wherever we go, in a device so small that it can easily slip into your shirt pocket. As of April 2008 there have been over 150,000,000 iPods sold around the world, factor in the iPhone sales and you will begin to understand just how successful this market is!

Unfortunately there are some down-sides to this “iPod phenomenon”, the worst of which would be the possible hearing damage. Over the years Apple have received a slew of law-suits regarding hearing loss and accidents as a result of iPod use. A standard iPod is capable of producing sound around the 115 dB mark which is equivalent to a jet taking off at 100m. Exposure to these kind of sound levels for more than 28 seconds per day can result in hearing damage.

I am personally very surprised that I don’t have any hearing damage after many years of loud guitar amplifier use and many rock concerts in between. This kind of behaviour is certainly not recommended, but it is nowhere near as dangerous as an innocent looking pair of headphones set at high continuous volumes. Many parents would have no idea of the potential hearing damage that can be caused from these devices. The entire range of  iPod’s and iPhone’s have volume restriction capabilities built-in and it is recommended that you utilize these features and lock them with a pass code to prevent your child from disabling them.

Here is a general rule that parents can follow…if you’re able to hear the music while the headphones are on your child then the over-all volume is definitely set too high. Protecting our children’s hearing has not been a priority, simply because many parents have no idea of the dangers that exist. With so many music/media players in the hands of our children we need to educate them and everyone else on the safe use of these devices and prevent any future hearing loss problems.

Posted in Hints & Tips.